“When our designs are removed from this context and replicated by big retailers, it damages our brand and all the work that has gone into developing each product.

The fashion industry is at its heart - a creative one. There is enough room within the industry for small independent brands who focus on the artistic side, and bigger retailers to work independently from each other. Brands can be inspired by trends, without replicating designs verbatim.

“We hope that in the future these bigger retailers will see how damaging this behaviour can be to smaller brands, both financially and ethically. They have the resources to employ designers to create original designs, and could promote positive change in this area. It would be great to see more working with independent designers instead of against them.”

The brand founded in 2008 by owner and designer Gabrielle Adamidis went into more detail about their complaint on Instagram.

“It’s not the first time this has happened and I’m sure not the last,” the caption read.

“We are a very small, independent brand. Here at Hopeless we make every single item one by one, for each customer as they place their order, and put a huge amount of love and care behind every single design.

“It’s pretty heartbreaking to see things like this happen, and more so knowing that we are absolutely not alone, this behaviour is rife in the fashion industry.”